Big Six firm acts in $52.5m Mesoblast placement

MinterEllison has advised Mesoblast in completing a fully underwritten institutional placement to raise $52.5m, proceeds of which will be used to shore up the company’s balance sheet and support ongoing clinical trials and commercial manufacturing requirements.

MinterEllison’s team was led by partner Bart Oude-Vrielink, with special counsel Sudharshan
Senathirajah and Renee Doyle, and lawyer Sarah Soon.

ASIC relief to use the “cleansing notice” regime was required as Mesoblast had been suspended for more than five trading days in the past 12 months. The regenerative medicine maker’s shares were placed in a trading halt last 1 June, and then suspended two days later.

Last Monday, the firm’s shares fell more than 11%, as investors reacted to the placement of 26.25 million shares at a 16% discount to the last closing price. However, the company’s stock price has rallied nearly 60% year-to-date due to one of its drugs being awarded “fast track” designation by the US Food and Drug Administration.